Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-137). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-137). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2010. / This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections. / Cataloged from student submitted PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references. / Anthropogenic activity is rapidly changing the global climate through the emission of carbon dioxide. Ocean carbon and sulfur cycles have the potential to impact global climate directly and through feedback loops. Numerical modeling, field and laboratory studies are used to improve our mechanistic understanding of the impact of natural variability on carbon and sulfur cycling. Variability in ocean physics, specifically changes in vertical mixing, is shown to significantly impact both cycles. The impact of interannual variability on the detection and attribution of anthropogenic carbon (Canthro) and the storage of Canthro in the Atlantic Ocean is analyzed using a three-dimensional global ocean model. Several regions are identified where empirical methods used to estimating Canthro are not able to correct for natural variability in the ocean carbon system. This variability is also shown to bias estimates of long term trends made from hydrographic observations. In addition, the storage of Canthro in North Atlantic mode waters is shown to be strongly influenced by water mass transformation during wintertime mixing events. The primary mechanisms responsible for seasonal variability in dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) degradation and dimethylsulfide (DMS) production in the oligotrophic North Atlantic are investigated using potential enzyme activity and gene expression and abundance data. Vertical mixing and UV radiative stress appear to be the dominant mechanisms behind seasonal variability in DMS production in the Sargasso Sea. This thesis demonstrates the importance of and dynamics of bacterial communities responsible for DMSP degradation and DMS production in oligotrophic surface waters. These findings suggest that modifications to current numerical models of the upper ocean sulfur cycle may be needed. Specifically, current static parameterizations of bacterial DMSP cycling should be replaced with a dynamic bacterial component including DMSP degradation and DMS production. / by Naomi Marcil Levine. / Ph.D.

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The techniques of surface deformation and mapping are useful tools for the visualization of medical surfaces, especially for highly undulated or branched surfaces. In this thesis, two algorithms are presented for flattened visualizations of multi-branched medical surfaces, such as vessels. The first algorithm is an angle preserving approach, which is based on conformal analysis. The mapping function is obtained by minimizing two Dirichlet functionals. On a triangulated representation of vessel surfaces, this algorithm can be implemented efficiently using a finite element method. The second algorithm adjusts the result from conformal mapping to produce a flattened representation of the original surface while preserving areas. It employs the theory of optimal mass transport via a gradient descent approach. A new class of image morphing algorithms is also considered based on the theory of optimal mass transport. The mass moving energy functional is revised by adding an intensity penalizing term, in order to reduce the undesired "fading" effects. It is a parameter free approach. This technique has been applied on several natural and medical images to generate in-between image sequences.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-03-26T14:01:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.pdf: 1024607 bytes, checksum: d790e435733c38f369dea4a0231609b0 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-07-31 / The industry of Kraft pulp production process generates large amount of foul condensate. Such condensates are potential pollutants impacting on investment, cost of operation and maintenance, power consumption, cost of chemical in the process, water consumption, effluent generation and odor. Systems useful for treatment of foul condensates from a Kraft pulp mill are formed by stripping systems which are columns of removing volatile contaminants condensed with the use of steam or air. This study aimed at improving the process of treating contaminated condensate in a plant of bleached eucalyptus Kraft pulp, existing, which presented poor treatment of condensate and due to this low efficiency did not use the total amount of treated condensate in the process, generating higher costs and increased effluent load. An assessment of the design data and operation of each of the three systems of stripping the existing plant. The variables and process controls, and offers technical alternatives for the treatment of contaminated condensate as well as use indicated of the entire treated condensate. / A indústria de produção de polpa celulósica Kraft gera no processo grandes volumes de condensados contaminados, oriundos do processo de cozimento e da evaporação de licor negro. Tais condensados são potenciais agentes poluidores impactando em investimentos, custo de operação e manutenção, consumo de energia, gasto de insumos químicos no processo, consumo de água, além de geração de efluente e odor. Sistemas usuais de tratamento de condensados contaminados de uma fábrica de polpa Kraft são formados por sistemas de extração de gases, que são colunas de remoção dos contaminantes voláteis dos condensados com uso de vapor ou ar. Este estudo teve como objetivo o aperfeiçoamento do processo de tratamento de condensado contaminado em uma planta de polpa Kraft de eucalipto branqueada, existente, que apresentava deficiência no tratamento dos condensados e, por conta desta baixa eficiência, não utilizava todo o condensado tratado no processo, gerando maiores custos e uma maior carga para o efluente. Foi realizada uma avaliação dos dados de projeto e de operação de cada um dos três sistemas de extração de gases da planta existente. Foram avaliadas as variáveis de processo e os controles e propostas alternativas técnicas para o tratamento do condensado contaminado bem como a utilização para todo o condensado tratado. Como resultado, foram identificadas as alterações que deverão ser executadas nos sistemas de tratamento de condensado e as alternativas para o uso de todo do condensado tratado, tendo como resultado a redução de custos e impactos ambientais.

This thesis describes the on-road analysis of criteria air pollutants (CAPs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from a moving vehicle. CAPs and VOCs have numerous direct and indirect effects on the environment and public health and are generated from a variety of point and diffuse sources. The concentration of these pollutants can vary on the scale of metres and seconds due to variable emission rates of sources, meteorology, and the topography of an area. CAPs are conventionally measured on a spatial scale of tens of kilometres and one hour or longer time resolution, which limits the understanding of their impact and leaving many communities lacking information regarding their air quality. VOCs are not measured as frequently as CAPs, owing to the difficulty, challenges, and cost associated with sampling. The Mobile Mass Spectrometry Lab (MMSL) was developed to collect high geospatial (15 – 1,500 m) and temporal (1 – 10 s) resolution measurements of CAPs (O3, NOx, PM2.5), CO2, CH4, and VOCs. CAPs and greenhouse gases were monitored using standard analyzers, while VOCs were measured using a proton-transfer reaction time-of-flight mass spectrometer (PTR-MS). PTR-MS is a real-time, direct, in situ technique that can monitor VOCs in the ambient atmosphere without sample collection. The PTR-MS monitored up to mass-to-charge 330 with a sample integration time of 1 or 10 seconds and had detection limits into the low- to mid-ppt. PTR-MS is a soft ionization technique that is selective to all compounds with a proton affinity less than water, which excludes the atmospheric matrix and includes most VOCs. The measurements provided by the PTR-MS provided a rich dataset for which to develop workflow and processing methods alongside sampling strategies for the collection of high geospatial and temporal VOC data. The first on-road deployment of the MMSL was performed across the Regional District of Nanaimo and the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District in British Columbia, Canada, from July iv 2018 – April 2019 to monitor the geospatial and temporal variation in the concentration of CAPs and VOCs. VOCs detected in the areas include hydrocarbons like toluene, C2-benzenes, and terpenes, organic acids like acetic acid, oxygenated compounds like acetone and acetaldehyde, and reduced sulfur compounds like methanethiol and dimethyl sulfide. While observed concentrations of VOCs were mostly below detection limits, concentration excursions upwards of 2,200 ppb for C2-benzenes (reported as ethylbenzene) for instance, were observed across the various communities and industries that comprise central Vancouver Island. VOCs like monoterpenes, were observed near the wood industries up to 229 ppb. Combustion related VOCs, like toluene and C2-benzenes, were often observed on major transportation corridors and was found to vary significantly between seasons, with winter measurements often exceeding those made in the summer. Reduced sulfur compounds, common components of nuisance odours, were measured around a few industries like waste management and wood industries. The second on-road deployment of the MMSL focused on the analysis of VOCs in the community around a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) to identify the source of odours in the area. VOCs were also monitored in the odour control process of the WWTP to identify the VOCs being emitted, how much were emitted, and where potential deficiencies were in the process in a unique study. Median emission rates at the facility for methanethiol, dimethyl sulfide, and dimethyl disulfide were determined to be 100, 19, and 21 kg yr-1, respectively. VOC monitoring in the community encompassed the WWTP and the other major industries in the area, including agricultural land, a composting facility, and a marina. The highest measurements of odorous reduced sulfur compounds were observed around the WWTP, upwards of 36 ppb for methanethiol. Unsupervised multivariate analysis was performed to identify groups of VOCs present and their potential sources. Three groups were identified, one of which was related to reduced sulfur compounds. This group was observed around the WWTP, indicating that the WWTP was the likely source of malodours in the community. / Graduate

Il a récemment été démontré que la glace de mer antarctique pouvait jouer un rôle significatif dans la dynamique des gaz à effet climatique (dont le dimethylsulfure ou DMS) dans les régions polaires. Ce travail s’est d’abord attaché à la mise au point d’une méthode de mesure fiable du diméthylsulfoxyde (DMSO) dans la glace de mer, supprimant les interférences générées par la production de DMS au sein de l’échantillon en réponse au choc osmotique subi lors de la fonte de l’échantillon de glace. Une procédure de détermination séquentielle du DMS, par broyage à sec, puis du dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) et du DMSO sur le même échantillon de glace a été développée et utilisée à large échelle dans ce travail. Les données du présent travail ont été acquises dans le cadre de deux programmes d’observation intégrés menés sur la glace de mer antarctique à des saisons différentes mais avec une méthodologie commune :1) choix de sites d’étude homogènes afin de minimiser l’impact de la variabilité spatiale sur l’interprétation des résultats dans une optique d’évolution temporelle et 2) priorité à la caractérisation du cadre physico-chimique (texture, température, salinité, couvert de neige, susceptibilité au drainage des saumures,….) avant toute autre analyse. L’étude menée dans le cadre du programme ISPOL (nov.–dec. 2004) a permis d’observer que la stratification des saumures a un impact positif sur la conversion du DMSP en DMS au sein de la glace mais ralentit les flux de DMS et DMSP vers l’océan. Le couvert de glace est caractérisé à cette période de l’année par une perte nette de DMSP et génère des flux combiné de DMS et DMSP du même ordre de grandeur que les flux de DMS atmosphériques mesurés dans le cadre d’autres études. L’étude menée dans le cadre du programme SIMBA (sept.–oct. 2007) a permis de mettre en évidence l’importance du forçage atmosphérique sur le régime thermique et la dynamique du DMS/P/O dans la glace. Les communautés d’algues de surface produisent de fortes concentrations de DMS/P/O en réponse au stress thermique, osmotique et potentiellement radiatif durant les périodes de refroidissement et la mise en place d’un régime soutenu de drainage des saumures contribue à évacuer périodiquement les hautes concentrations de DMS/P/O produites dans la glace vers l’océan sous-jacent. Le couvert de glace affichant une production nette de DMS/P/O à cette période de l’année génère des flux combinés de DMS et DMSP plus de dix fois supérieurs à ceux observés pour la glace estivale. L’étude menée sur de la glace artificielle a permis de mettre en évidence l’impact des processus physico-chimiques sur la signature en gaz de la glace en croissance constituant un premier pas vers la modélisation des transports de gaz dans la glace de mer et leurs échanges au travers des interfaces glace-océan et glace-atmosphère. <p><p><p>SUMMARY - It has recently been demonstrated that Antarctic sea ice recently demonstrated plays a potentially significant role in the dynamics of climatically significant gases (amongst which dimethylsulphide or DMS) in Polar Regions. This research work has initially focused on the development of a reliable method for the determination of dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO) within sea ice, avoiding interferences generated by DMS production within the sample in response to the osmotic shock caused by melting. A sequential determination procedure of DMS, dimethlsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) and DMSO on the same ice sample has been developed and used on a large amount of samples in the present work. Data presented in this research project have been collected in the framework of two integrated sea ice observation programs focused on Antarctic sea ice at different seasons but following a common approach: 1) choice of homogeneous study sites to minimize the impact of spatial variability on the interpretation of the results in a time series perspective and 2) priority given to the characterization of the physicochemical framework (texture, temperature, salinity, snow cover, susceptibility to brine drainage,…) prior to any other study. The study conducted in the framework of the ISPOL experiment (Nov.–Dec. 2004) demonstrated that stratification of the brine inclusions network positively influenced the conversion of DMSP into DMS but decreased fluxes of DMS and DMSP towards the ocean. The ice cover at that time of the year is characterised by a net DMSP loss and generates combined DMS and DMSP fluxes whose values fall in the range of atmospheric DMS flux from sea ice measured in the frame of other studies. The study conducted in the framework of the SIMBA experiment (sept.–oct. 2007) emphasized the importance of atmospheric thermal forcing on the sea ice thermal regime and DMS/P/O dynamics. The surface community of algae produced elevated levels of DMS/P/O in response to thermal, osmotic and potentially radiative stress during periods of atmospheric cooling while the development of an intense brine drainage regime contributed to periodically release the elevated levels of DMS/P/O produced in the sea ice towards the underlying ocean. The ice cover exhibited at that time of the year a net production of DMS/P/O and produced combined DMS and DMSP fluxes more than ten times higher than those observed for summer sea ice. The study conducted on laboratory prepared growing sea ice emphasised the impact of physicochemical processes on the gas signature of growing sea ice and represents a first step towards modelling gas exchanges within sea ice and across its interfaces with the ocean and the atmosphere.<p> / Doctorat en Sciences agronomiques et ingénierie biologique / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished